Not Yours
by ThreeCoo-CooClocks
Summary: He wasn't hers. The eyes, the hair, the voice... it all seemed the same, but he wasn't the person she once knew. Now she just had to find the one who was hers again. She had to. Please R&R!
1. Gone

_**Disclaimer: **_**Primeval and it's characters are not our property, no copyright intended.**

_**A/N:**_** So Sallad and I have nothing to say about this but that it's based off the idea of Cutter losing Claudia and gaining Jenny. Hope you enjoy it! Takes place sometime after Series5 finale.**

* * *

The Triassic: dry, hot, humid – a place Abby would hate to be stuck in. Similar to the Cretaceous she noted, but she actually would have preferred being stuck here.

The Triassic had reptiles – everywhere. They were plain adorable and she wanted to survey each one, even the ones with large, sharp, widely threatening teeth – Never mind, it was probably best for her to live in the Cretaceous instead. She didn't find Raptors attractive like Cutter had.

She dived into the wide ocean of sea creatures, knowing it was beyond dangerous but she didn't have much choice. God did she hate water. Her eyes managed to open through the dirty but cleared water she swam her way through. Beyond her eyes she saw the very light she was thanking God at that moment to still see. It was her ticket home.

She speedily swam through the anomaly, holding her breath at the last striving moments she could. As she made her way through the ball of broken shards of time she quickly emerged from the water, seeing her very team glaring at her.

"Oh thank god!" Emily hollered. Emily looked to be the only one on the happy side of things. Abby paddled her way to the doc and gave Matt a sheepish smile as Becker helped her out of the enlarged lake.

"Abigail…" Matt started in.

"I made it back, didn't I? C'mon, Matt! It was going to close any minute, I couldn't just let the poor thing live away from where he belonged… I know how it feels to be a long way from home."

Matt sighed, easing up a little. "You could have at least brought some kind of equipment to keep yourself alive. You could have drowned and we'd never know."

"I can hold my breath for quite a long time – I was fine, and I _am _fine, as you can all clearly tell." Becker didn't look happy either, clearly not okay with her spontaneous decision but he still managed a smile when he handed her a towel.

"Thanks. Now please tell me no one told Connor what I did, because last thing I need is a lecture from him." Abby didn't like the looks everyone was giving her then. They all looked at her worried, or worse, completely lost at what she meant. "You'd all be very surprised what kind of lectures Connor can give. He's rather good, actually."

They all still looked at her like she had lost it.

"He probably got it from Lester." No one laughed, no one smiled… they were all blank faced.

Finally Becker spoke. "Abby … who's Connor?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"We're just confused who Connor is, that's all." Emily added in. Abby looked at all of them deeply concerned. This wasn't funny – one bit of funny.

"Where is he? He was at the ARC earlier – please tell me he's still at the ARC?"

"Abby, who are you going on about?" This time it was Matt. Matt? He never joined in in these types of games. Why did they think it was so amusing?

"Connor! Connor Temple! My-! ... he's, he's your tech guy! He's my-!" they all stared at her, looking as baffled and worried as she.

"You mean Jess?" Becker asked, Abby rapidly shaking her head.

"No! Connor! He has dark hair, about this tall," she raised her hand above her head. "brown eyes, I'm with him all the bloody time!" Matt shook his head, as well as everyone else. "He wears quirky clothes and ..." she took a deep breath, seeing their expressions – they weren't messing with her. "No, no, no, no, no. This **_cannot_** be happening. Not now! Not after-!"

"Abby …" Matt came near her, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. Abby was too dazed to even see him. "why don't we head back to the ARC?"

She nodded, understanding some words of that. ARC. That's where she last saw Connor, she last gave him a kiss, and the last time she saw his grin.

They all walked to the vehicles, all staring at Abigail Maitland, wondering who she was going on about and how they could possibly help.

* * *

Abby dragged her feet through the ARC entry, blank faced. She wasn't sure to be stunned, mortified, or angry. As she had no idea what to do tears were silently streaming down her face, hearing whispers from the team about her finally losing it. Whatever that meant.

"No, I said lizard, _not _alligator. What can I do with a bloody alligator?" someone said loudly from across the hub out from the crowd. Abby heard the voice from the dozens of other and her head jolted up to see, it was him. She ran from the team and when Connor looked at her she leaped in his arms - clinging to him with all her strength.

"Uhh... Abby?" he said confused.

"God Connor, I thought I had erased you from time!"

He was quiet for a moment, "You thought what?"

"Don't _ever_ do that to me."

"Abby…?"

"You guys aren't funny at all, you know it?"

"Ms. Maitland, can you let go of me?"

Abby jerked back and looked at him shocked, "What did you just call me?"

"Sorry, sorry. I know you prefer Abby – just you weren't responding to it so-"

She let go of him completely and looked into his brown eyes, "Connor, what are you talking about?"

"Who's Connor?"

Abby looked at him mortified. That nightmare had yet ended. "You! You are Connor Temple!"

"My names Andrew, as you should know since we're always working in the menagerie together. I know you're bad with names but ... Connor?"

"Andrew…? That doesn't even make sense-! … Andrew what?"

"Andrew Day...? Who's Connor anyway?"

Abby shook her head back and forth, not wanting to listen to one word of this. "No, no this cannot be happening to me." she slumped down onto a chair and held in her sobs, but wet droplets still made their way out of her eyes. The entire ARC was watching as she made quite a scene and they were all completely confused, just as Andrew.

He gave them a shrug and knelt down beside her. "Ms. Mait- Abby I mean. Abby, what's going on?"

Abby looked at him as tears trickled down her face. The fact that she was crying was no longer a secret. She now saw how he dressed; nicely fitted jeans and a tight fitted army green T-shirt with some sort of lab jacket over it. He didn't even wear his ring. This wasn't her Connor.

"This sounds crazy, I know, but before I went through an anomaly about an hour ago you were a man called Connor Temple."

"I've always been Andrew, Ms. Maitland."

"If you call me Ms. Maitland again I will punch you until your nose bleeds."

He paused, obviously being struck by her words, "Right... sorry."

Abby sighed. "No," she assured him as she shook her head. "I'm sorry. It's just ..." she quickly stood up from whatever seat she was in and hastily left the hub, hearing Connor – no, it was Andrew calling after her.

* * *

Lester looked at Becker astonished. He was reporting what had happened in the field just thirty minutes ago and when he said Abby made it back safe but was having a fit over some person named Connor it struck Lester hard. The last time something like that happened was when Cutter came through an anomaly, almost seven years ago, and rambled on about a woman named Claudia Brown.

"Is something wrong, sir?" Becker asked, seeing the worry in his expression. Lester shook his head and turned his chair back to the window that sought out to the hub.

"Course not. All is fine as you said. Now go on, find something productive to do before you become like Danny Quinn was. Simply lazy."

"Yes sir." Becker gave a stiffened nod and walked out of the office. Lester didn't pay any attention to his weird looks, for Lester was too stuck on Abby as she wondered away from Andrew looking quite upset. She was almost near tears.

"Oh dear," he said to himself. "seems I'll need to do something about this then."

Lester then noticed Andrew and smiled to himself. She was fond of Andrew, wasn't she? Yes, she seemed to rather like the lad. And Abby had once before complained to him that she was the only species expert on field work. Lester decided he would send Andrew with the team. Maybe that would cheer Abby up some, to have someone help her when she needed help. He hated seeing her upset, for secretly, Abby was always his favorite.

Lester smiled to himself, something he hardly ever did, and knew Andrew would now be helping Abby on field work.

* * *

_"Abs! Abs!" Connor ran up beside her with a huge grin on his face. Abby was in the menagerie doing her job – Connor didn't seem to be doing his, but that was nothing new. "I just found something amazing."_

_ She was eyeing him as his grin was bigger than ever, like he was holding in a laugh. She almost feared if she didn't ask what it was soon he'd burst. "What's so amazing, Connor?"_

_ "Dino jokes." He blurted out._

_ Abby furrowed her brows, "…What?"_

_ "You know that website I have? 'Dinosaur Facts'?"_

_ Abby nodded, "Yeah, what about it?"_

_ "I was looking for something else to liven up the site and guess what I found!"_

_ Abby let out a small laugh. "What?"_

_ "Dinosaur jokes! It's brilliant, Abs!"_

_ "I'm confused, dinosaur jokes are brilliant?"_

_ "You don't get it, Abs. They're hilarious!" _

_ Abby shook her head at him. "I'm sure they are."_

_ "What do you get if you cross a pig with a dinosaur?"_

_ Abby rolled her eyes, but she was still visibly grinning at him. "What?"_

_ "Jurassic Pork!" he laughed at the joke himself and Abby laughed, but at how he found it so amusing. _

_ "Very funny-"_

_ "Why do dinosaurs eat raw meat?"_

_ She turned to him, seeing he wasn't finished. "I'm on the edge of my seat."_

_ "Because they can't cook!" he chuckled at that one and she just raised a brow. "That one wasn't the funniest. What do you call a dinosaur that left his armor out in the rain?"_

_ "Surprise me."_

_ "Stegosaurust!" he laughed even harder this time and Abby just laughed with him, loving to see him so happy. "I love that one."_

_ "Oh yeah, that one's going in my joke book."_

_ Connor once again ignored her sarcasm. "This one I made up meself. What's a dinosaur's favorite website?"_

_ She smirked at him. "What?"_

_ "The-saurus!" For Connor, and because she actually thought that one more amusing than the others, she laughed. _

_ "Those are all brilliant, Connor. 'Specially yours." She said somewhat teasing. _

_ "Oh yeah, and I'm going to teach all our kids those jokes." He said, inching closer to her._

_ "Are you now? I didn't even know we had kids." She replied as she wrapped her arms around his neck, just to be close to him._

_ "We will. And they're all going to love the hell out of dinosaurs."_

_ She giggled, "They better. Otherwise they're not going to get your dino jokes at all."_

_ Connor let out a laugh and pecked her on the lips. "I love you, Mrs. Temple."_

_ She beamed at him, loving to hear him – or anyone for that matter – call her that. "And I love you, Mr. Temple."_

"Abby?" Jess walked in the lab, seeing Abby sitting in the darkened, empty room with a tear rolling down her cheek. "There's- … there's an anomaly."

Abby gave a nod. "Thanks, Jess. I'll be right there."

"Course. Oh, and Abby... I'm sorry about this Connor guy."

Abby looked up at Jess, eyes red and puffy. "You don't remember him at all, do you?"

"No, I'm sorry, I don't ..." she felt horrible. This wasn't just Abby losing her sanity like everyone had been saying, she really had lost someone; someone who meant a lot to her. Jess walked further in the lab and sat beside her, a stool identical to the one Abby perched herself upon. "You loved him, didn't you?"

She nodded. "That wasn't much of a secret, though."

"Oh… why is that?"

"Because..." a sob came out of her, managing to control it soon after. Jess rubbed circles on her back, not sure how to really comfort Abby – seeing that she never really cries. She lived in the flat with her for months and she never once shed a tear, yet here she was, bawling. This definitely wasn't Abby just going nuts.

"I heard you hated being called Ms. Maitland earlier … Abby, were you ... were you married to Connor?" Abby looked up at Jess with watery eyes and slowly nodded, not sure how to respond. At that Jess hugged her tight, having no idea how to feel, but knowing she should at least grieve with her friend.

* * *

Abby and Jess walked in the hub, passing Andrew who was giving Matt information on the anomaly, Emily silently listening by his side.

"About time you showed up," he said as Andrew finished his sentence. "We've been looking everywhere for you."

"Deal with it, Matt." Jess said with a glare and Abby wanted to smile at that. Jess always made her smile.

Jess walked over to the ADD after giving a smile and nod to Abby. Andrew followed her at her request. He helped Jess with things now and then, and Jess soon found security cameras that caught footage of the creature and needed Andrew to identify the creature – being more of a history fanatic then animal specialist. Abby caught a look from Andrew from across the hub, but she wasn't sure if it was a glare or look of sympathy.

"Abby, are you okay?" Becker asked very worried like.

"I'll be fine, thank you Becker." She forced a smile.

"Ms. Maitland, I've heard you had some kind of loss like Cutter had..." Lester spoke up. She turned to him and he continued. "Cutter wasn't on his best when that happened and neither will you. Matt, bring another animal expert -"

"Like who?"

Lester looked around the hub. "Mr. Day! You're with the team, go."

"He doesn't even have field training!"

"He was in the military, Matt." Emily reminded him.

"Me...?" Andrew said confused, then glanced at Abby who was in complete shock. Just what she needed.

"Yes, I don't see why you're all just standing there. Go!" and they all scurried away.

* * *

_**Yes, of course, to be continued. Soon, hopefully!**_

_**Reviews are like chocolate. **_

_**We love chocolate.**_


	2. Yours

_**A/N: **_**This will be a five-shot, next chapter will be posted soonish... hopefully. **

**Flashbacks come in and out a lot, and will continue through the chapters. Enjoy!**

* * *

The team, along with Andrew, arrived at the anomaly site after what seemed like hours. Abby had gotten stuck with the car holding the new guy, and when she got in, the truck was immediately filled with awkward silence. A couple of times he tried to make a joke, ask a question, anything to get a response out of her, but she only answered with a nod or a few mumbled words. She just really didn't want to deal with this at the moment.

The anomaly opened near water, and as she looked around, Abby recognized the place immediately.

_"Conn," she came up behind him, wrapped with a blanket. Connor was just as wet as her but there was only one available and he insisted that she have it. _

_He turned his head to her, seeing she had walked away from her friend Lucille. "Yeah?"_

_She shrugged, not having much of a point to say his name. Though one thing was nagging her, what he just told her in that anomaly – but she wouldn't mention that here._

_"You all right?" he asked, always acting so protective over her. She nodded as they waited for the ARC vehicle to come pick them up and bring them home, but honestly she was fine just standing beside him._

_Did she just think that? Did she really just want to be with Connor all the time? The look Lucille had just given her; it was the look almost everyone gave her when she denied having a relationship with Connor. Was she starting to see why?_

_Was Abby Maitland falling for Connor Temple?_

_"Cutter said we might turn into those things, our decadents anyway. It being our future and all." She spoke up, trying to break away her thoughts._

_Connor looked at her with arched brows then gave a sickened expression. "Don't fancy yours much, then."_

_She laughed. "I said the same thing."_

_"Really?" he said with a grin._

_"Yeah! Same thing!-"_

"You all right, Abby?" Matt asked, seeing the look on her face.

"Fine." She nodded, not wanting to think about the memories this place brought up anymore. It hurt too much.

Matt walked away to check for an incursion, still concerned for her.

The anomaly had opened on the dock, near water once again. It was glowing as brightly and beautifully as ever, the shards around it continued to swirl and dance, as if it were the first perceived by human eyes. It was almost hard to believe that so much suffering could be caused by such a beauty of nature.

Emily came up to Abby, rubbing her hands up and down her arms to warm herself. "It's so cold. Aren't you chilly?" She asked, referring to Abby's short sleeves.

"Nah, I like the cold," Abby replied bluntly.

Emily's face softened when she saw the expression in her eyes. "Do you know this place?"

Abby gave her a surprised, questioning glare.

"I know the look," She smiled and clarified. "It's what Matt looks like when he remembers home. Grim familiarity."

Abby smiled and nodded in understanding.

"So what happened here? If you don't mind my asking."

She sighed, taking a moment to let the memories sink in. "An anomaly opened, and a creature came through and attacked me. A mer-creature from the future. It dragged me and this other kid underwater, then took me through the anomaly." She smiled, "Connor came through, and-" Her eyes closed, remembering that in this timeline, that never even happened.

"What about Connor?" She urged Abby to continue after a moment of silence.

Abby sighed again. "Never mind, yeah? S'not important."

"We've got a creature incursion." They heard Becker's voice over the com and hurried over to him, grateful for the interruption.

It was a thin animal with a long neck and tail that seemed not to be in much of a hurry to get anywhere.

"Thecodontosaurus." Abby announced after a moment.

"Dangerous?" Becker asked, EMD ready.

She shook her head. "Herbivore. Should be fairly easy to put back."

Becker smirked and decided to have some fun with the new guy. "Then you can do it." He took a gun out of the trunk and tossed it to Andrew.

He caught it, looking surprised and slightly confused. Most of all, not wanting to have anything to do with a creature on his first day in the field. Matt and Emily exchanged a look, amused and almost shocked that Becker would hand out one of his guns so freely. Abby just stood silently, still a bit dazed, trying to take in the new timeline. This timeline without her Connor…

Andrew spoke up for himself, "Why me? Shouldn't someone with more experience-"

"Ever heard of 'on the job training'?" Becker countered, hiding a smug look.

He sighed, still looking a bit dazed, and mumbled something about "learning by example" before heading towards the creature.

"Nice… dinosaur… Good dinosaur, just go this way…" He got behind the animal and pushed the EMD out repeatedly with both hands, trying to scare it towards the anomaly. In return, he received a roar and a snap in the face from the creature. It ran a few paces, then stopped and continued about its business. The majority of the team chuckled, but Abby was quick to add her input.

"Not that way, Conn-"

Andrew flinched. Everyone looked away awkwardly, not quite sure what to do. Andrew cleared his throat, and Jess remained silent on the other end of the com.

"I mean, Andrew," Abby finally recovered. "Here, let me do it." She took his place and ripped a handful of grass out of the earth. "C'mon," walking slowly backwards, showing the Thecodontosaurus its food, she led it away from the team and nearer the anomaly. "That's it, good girl," her voice took a more relaxed tone. Creatures were one thing she understood, even in this messed up universe. But as soon as the anomaly was in view, the beast took one look at it and bolted the other way, back towards the team.

"What happened, Abby?" Matt asked.

"I dunno… If she's scared of the anomaly itself, she never would've gone through it to get here, so it can't be that…"

"Do you think she's scared of something on the other side?" Emily asked.

"I hate to keep saying it, but I don't know."

"Should we try again?" Becker inquired, hoping to be able to volunteer Andrew again, despite the awkwardness before.

She was about to reply when a loud growl came through the anomaly.

Becker pointed his EMD towards the anomaly instinctively, while Abby turned around quickly to face the anomaly.

"What… What's that?" Andrew demanded.

"Guys?" Jess' voice was heard.

"Emily? Time to put that target practice to work." Matt looked towards her and took out two guns from the truck.

"Talk to me, did something come through?" Jess requested, ready to research.

"Not yet," Becker informed. "Just a growl so far."

"Alright, let's just worry about this creature for now, yeah? We don't all need to be going after the big guy at once," Matt guided.

"Should we tranq it?" Becker asked.

"No," Abby interjected. "She can move on her own, we should take advantage of that."

"No offense, Abby, but we already tried," Matt reminded.

"No, she's right," Emily commented. "We shouldn't hurt it or even tranq it unless absolutely necessary."

"We need to get it locked," Andrew piped in. "I guess… whichever would get it through faster, that's what we should do."

The team looked at him, not speaking.

"…Right?" He glanced around, still a bit self-conscious on his first day out of the ARC.

"Absolutely," Becker agreed with a look to the leader.

Matt sighed and nodded, "Sorry, Emily." He acknowledged Abby with another nod and gave Becker the go-ahead to shoot.

A cry escaped the creature as the tranquilizer entered its body, and it fell to the ground. Abby sighed, seeing the two men tie it up and put it on the carrier, limp and helpless.

Her thoughts drifted to Connor as she watched them strap it up… She did everything with him. For the last seven years she'd lived with him, worked with him, and even ate with him. They had movie nights together, and most of all they were in love. How could she manage living in a world without him? He had been there for her through everything, and she'd been proud to show him off once she finally accepted him. Now these people, her friends, didn't even remember him. All she had to do was look at Andrew to remember all the things she loved about him, for everything about Andrew lacked everything about Connor. He was nice enough, in fact in a different life Abby could've been good friends with him, but he wasn't her Connor. She already missed his hugs and his laugh… A smile formed as she pictured his dimples, along with his shining brown eyes.

The Thecodontosaurus was going back to its home, and Abby realized the need to accept that she would never return to hers. But she couldn't give up just yet… Not yet. Her Connor still needed her. He'd saved her life too many times to count in and out of the Cretaceous, now it was her turn to return the favor.

She was going to bring him back, no matter what it took.

"Matt!" she called as he finished strapping up the creature. "I'll take her, yeah?"

"No way, Abigail. Too dangerous," Becker protested.

"It's the Triassic, Becker, and I'm a lizard girl. You know that."

Becker groaned as Matt smirked and gave Abby the handle.

"Thanks," she said and rolled the carrier slowly towards the anomaly, careful not to hit too big of a bump. Stepping through to the other side, she took a deep breath and started to untie the beast, knowing she would soon follow in its footsteps and return home as well.

Another loud growl sounded from somewhere in the forest, but this time it was on the same side of the anomaly as she was. Whatever she was going to do, she had to do it quickly.

The Thecodontosaurus was finally free, and she gave it a gentle shove off the carrier. Looking around, she finally realized: she was back in the Triassic. One of the places she least wanted to be at the moment, but she was there for Connor. There was no backing out now.

Her thoughts were cut off by a Halticosaurus emerging from the trees, and it had its eyes on its lunch. Her.

She recognized it as a carnivore and instantly ran away from both the creatures and the anomaly, which was glowing as brightly as ever. Dodging in and out of the trees, she glanced behind her every now and then. The Halticosaurus would still be behind her.

Her legs began to get tired and started to fail her. She searched desperately for a hiding place, but she found none. The creature came after Abby, and the longer she ran, the more she began to lose speed. Finally she spotted a ditch that the beast couldn't fit in, and she went for it.

Jumping into it and gasping so hard she thought she'd never catch her breath, she watched, as best as she could, the Halticosaurus searching around for where its prey had gone. It looked left and right, passing by the ditch where Abby hid. She just started to imagine that she might be safe, when a growl came from something right on top of her, and claws whirred around near her head, blinding her. She cowered, shielding her face with her arms for protection, just out of reach of the claws. A twig cracked suddenly, capturing the beast's attention. It waited for a moment, and all was silent as it looked straight ahead.

Abruptly, it ran after whatever was unfortunate enough to make a noise. Abby waited a moment to make sure it was safe and climbed out of the ditch. Her hair was a tangled mess, and her face and clothes were filthy, but she was alive. Peeking around the creature, she noticed with a silent gasp that it was eating the Thecodontosaurus she'd tried so hard to keep from being tranquilized. Whether or not it was conscious when coming back through the anomaly hardly mattered now.

She started walking, but the carnivore saw her and decided it wasn't quite finished with the chase. Her legs felt like they were about to fall off, but she found herself running again, just as swiftly as before. But there was one difference this time: she was running back towards the carrier. And the anomaly.

The beast growled behind her, predicting success, knowing that it was gaining on her. The glowing ball of light was finally in sight, but it was fading.

Her year of living in the Cretaceous kicked in, and without a thought she picked up speed and headed straight for the anomaly at a pace she forgot she was capable of.

* * *

The team all waited patiently for Abby to return from the anomaly. All except Andrew. He didn't know much about field work, but he certainly did not think it should be taking this long to untie a dinosaur and drag the carrier back to this side. "Isn't it taking her a while?" he asked when he finally found the courage to speak.

"That's just what I was thinking, Andrew," Matt agreed.

Okay, maybe they weren't all so patient.

"Should one of us go in and make sure she's alright?" Emily suggested.

"No," Becker said firmly. "She'll come out on her own."

"Becker's right," Matt put his hand on Emily's shoulder. "She probably just found a new reptile she wanted to take a look at."

The anomaly started to fade. Everyone whipped around to face it as a growl came from the other side, like before, only much closer this time.

"Abby!" Andrew shouted, starting to run towards the light.

Becker grabbed him from behind and held him back. "No, you'll be trapped!"

"Abby!" He screamed again, trying to free himself.

As if on cue, Abby charged through the anomaly just before it could close. Andrew felt Becker's arms release him, and he immediately ran to Abby and hugged her, lifting her feet off the ground in a moment of excited relief.

Abby felt her feet touch the dock beneath her, a bit surprised by the unexpected impact of the hug. Her thoughts turned to Connor, and a specific embrace that she would not soon forget.

_"Connor?" she peeked in the loft, seeing Connor sitting there with tears running down his eyes. When he heard her voice he quickly wiped the tears away and stood up._

_ He cleared his throat before speaking. "Sorry, Abby. I know I probably shouldn't be up here, I was looking for Rex's food…"_

_ She smiled at him, seeing him scurry around. "It's fine, Connor. I don't care –long as you aren't going through my stuff, yeah? Then I'd be angry."_

_ He smiled back and shook his head. "No snooping, promise." And he started down the stairs. She knew why he was crying, it was over Tom. Connor was trying his best not to show how hard he was taking it, but it was pretty obvious and now she was always around with him, she saw tears running down his face quite often._

_ "Connor?"_

_ He turned to her midway down the steps. "Yo?"_

_ She walked over to him and took a deep breath before wrapping her arms around his ribcage and hugging him. He needed a friend, and she knew just like her, he didn't have that many._

_ "Uhhh, Abby?"_

_ "Yes, Connor?" she said as she continued to hug him._

_ She could practically see the blush on his cheeks. "You're hugging me."_

_ She left out a laugh. "I know."_

_ He smiled down at her and hugged her back, wondering if she knew how much he needed that right now. _

_ "Thanks, Abs."_

_ She felt his grip around her tighten and she gave a shrug through the embrace. "What friends are for?"_

She looked at Andrew confused as he held her tight. She tried to shrug him off but it didn't work, which she assumed was probably from habit – the Abby before she came seemed to be exactly the same, but maybe a bit colder.

"Uhh… Andrew?" she spoke. He pulled away from her, placing his hands on her cheeks and looking her in the eyes.

"Please don't ever do that to me again." Her mouth gaped open from the remembrance of Connor once again,

_"It'd be a pretty lonely place without you here,"_

but she quickly closed it and jerked away from him.

"I'm not your Abby, Andrew. I'm sorry, but I'm not … I don't think I ever can be, either." The tears she wanted to let out were bearable, so she held it in and looked him in the eyes. "Just mates, okay?"

He took a deep breath and nodded before stepping away from her. Abby nodded, seeing the audience she had was already embarrassing enough.

She silently muttered to Matt, "The jobs done." And walked away, letting her tears fall.


	3. Talks

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long since our last post! Busy school year and all. We'll try to post more frequently! Hope you enjoy chapter 3! (3's tend to be unlucky for us, but we'd say this chapter is an exception. Pay no attention to the coincidental amount of threes on our profile... three authors... three stories... three chapters...)**

* * *

Abby walked into the common room and was stopped dead in her tracks. Their lockers … after they got back the Cretaceous Lester kept them, and they decided to keep them in the common room to bring back some old ARC charm – but now, now they were just "Abby Maitland", "Danny Quinn" _"Sarah Page"._ Sarah didn't ever have one left from what she remembered; she supposed they left it in memory.

Looking at her locker brought a tear down her cheek. Their lockers were always beside each other. She knew it was silly, but she liked it that way. Now it wasn't even there.

_"Conn?" Abby walked in the gym to see Connor sitting at the bench, right in front of Nick Cutter's locker. It'd been a week now, since his death, and Connor was just sitting there in silence._

_ He looked up at her, watery eyes and a watery smile. "Hey, Abs."_

_ She sat beside him without another word spoken. She scooted as close as she possibly could and laid her head on his shoulder, just letting it all be quiet for once._

_ "I was doing better, ya know," he spoke up, Abby remaining rested on him. "I was getting to where I stopped thinking about it so much. I just … I avoided coming in here, but I had forgot why so when Danny asked me to get something for him…"_

_ She hugged his arm and gave a nod. "I know. It's fine to cry every now and then, yeah? Cryin's better for ya then bottlin' it all up anyway."_

_ "Yeah…" he sighed." Abs?"_

_ "Hmm?"_

_ "You know you can always cry with me, right?" she raised her head and looked at him with a gentle smile. _

_ "Yeah, I do."_

_ They were silent for a little bit longer, Abby's head still resting on his shoulder and suddenly Danny stormed in the room, giving them a glare._

_ "I asked to get me mobile, Connor – not get all snuggly with Abby."_

_ Connor blushed and looked down and he walked off, shaking his head. "No wonder they put your lockers beside each other. You guys are always together, aren't you?" And he stormed back out, obviously in a mood about who knows what._

_ Connor let out a laugh and she looked at him, now sitting a bit of a distance. "Wha'?"_

_ "Just funny, is all."_

_ "Why?"_

_ "No reason… You know something, Abs?" She shrugged for an answer. "That's me favorite part of this room."_

_ She arched a brow. "The lockers?"_

_ "Yup."_

_ She shook her head at him and stood up, "You're a little too cheesy, sometimes Connor." and as she walked out she heard him yell out,_

_ "That's what you love about me, yeah?" -_

"Abby?" she turned, Jess' voice calling her out of her depressing memories. "You okay?"

Abby chuckled. "I'm doing a lot better, yeah." It wasn't a complete lie. She wasn't bawling at every moment now.

Jess softly smiled. "Good. Listen, if you would like to talk about it, I'm here for you. Just so you know."

Abby nodded. "Thank you, Jess." She walked away and Abby sighed, forgetting why she entered the room in the first place. One place she hoped was normal came to mind – Menagerie.

* * *

Abby stared, the creatures in their containments section by section. They were all the same, to her anyway. They came from an anomaly she remembered – different or not. It was amazing how much this world was different from hers – she wished she could just figure out what she did wrong.

The mammoth slung out his trunk, brushing her head as almost a way to comfort. She grinned at the friendly prehistoric elephant and looked over, seeing a cage with a certain Sid and Nancy.

"Nancy!" she leaped down to the ground and sighed. "Sid… what did they do to you?"

"I don't think that's their names." Abby turned, seeing Andrew walking in.

"Course not, Connor and me named them Sid and Nancy…" she sighed, just seeing his face made her want to fall into tears. "Why are they here?"

"Once the anomalies closed you kept them here. You spend more time here than at home… You bring Rex with you usually every morning – except for this morning, since you were called into an incursion."

Abby nodded, understanding. It made sense, she only was ever at home because of Connor – especially a few years back, she would have spent her nights at the ARC if it wasn't for Connor's adorable face pleading her to come home and watch some horror film with him.

Andrew sat beside her; she just simply stood up beside him. One glance to him and a flash of his smile came to her, bringing back memories.

_ "Can I see it now?"_

_ "Nope…"_

_She let out a growl, but in all honesty she wasn't irritated one bit. Connor led her up some stairs and she realized they were walking into some kind of building, hearing the sound of wood flooring under the heels of their shoes._

_ He removed his hands from her eyes once they took a stop – Abby looked around and gasped to see the old house they once had an anomaly at. Only, it was safe now._

_ She turned to him and he grinned. "Surprise!"_

_ "This…? Is it …?" she wasn't sure how to react, but she was excited for sure._

_ "Ours? If you want it to be, yeah."_

_ Abby grinned back before squealing and clinging to his neck, giving a well-deserved hug. "You remembered."_

_ "How could I forget? Even after we left this place all those years you always went on about how you wished you lived here." She pulled away from him and his eyebrows rose. "So…?"_

_ "So it's perfect!" she took a look around and twirled back to Connor to see how relieved he was. "We can raise our family here."_

_ "A proper house, yeah? Plus Rex, Sid and Nancy will love it."_

_ That made Abby smile even more. When she noticed the fireplace it dawned on her this was where she jumped out at Connor, making her think he was in danger. She walked closer to him, bursting with excitement. She couldn't wait to start fixing it up and moving in._

_"And I'll love it even more than them. Thank you, Connor," she said before rising on her toes to peck him on the cheek, in memory of the last time they stood in this room._

_"Anything for you," he assured, brushed her cheek with his hand. "Besides, I like this place! It's fun," he said, dimples showing. Abby laughed at him and took a look around._

_She turned to him again and sighed. "How am I supposed to beat this?"_

_He shrugged playfully. "Just admit my wedding present was better, we'll call it even."_

_She smirked at him and leaned out the doorway before disappearing to explore. "Never."_

"I'm sorry." Abby refused to look at him, remembering how much that hurt. She raised a brow and answered, still looking at the floor in front of her.

"Why?"

"Because you were right," he said, letting out a sigh. He was looking at her now, she could see from the corner of her eye. "You're not my Abby… and I knew that, or know that… it's just… You're still Abby Maitland, my Abby Maitland or not, and the thought of you being hurt just…" he looked down at his hands and Abby scoffed. "Something funny?"

"I'm not Abby Maitland, Andrew." He looked at her again and she decided to look at him back, no matter how much it hurt her. Finally Abby reached into her pocket of her jeans and handed Andrew a folded up photograph. When in his hands his eyes grew wide. "My name is … or was… I don't even know anymore, I just… I'm Abby Temple. I've been known as Abby Temple for almost a year now. We even just bought a house…"

Andrew looked stunned. He couldn't believe it – he was looking at a picture of what looked like him and Abby at their own wedding. Was this the Connor she was going on about? This Connor meant a whole lot more to her than he realized, if it was. "Abby, I had no idea, are you all right?"

"I… why is it that I get your sympathy now? Being married or not, I still loved him … he … he still wore your face."

He looked away from her, almost forgetting for a second that she saw the same thing he saw when he looked upon her face. "I know, I just … guess I didn't realize how important he was to you."

She was quiet for a second, then nodded. "Same goes for you. The Abby before me… or is me, or whatever… I'm sorry."

He nodded as well. They were silent, not sure what to say, but Abby could see how torn up he was over this. She'd had time to cope, but he just now was coming to the realization that she wasn't his Abby.

"Ya know," She looked at him, this time seeing Andrew, not Connor. "if you want, I'll call you Mrs. Temple now."

She grinned at him and shook her head. "Just Abby. If you start calling me Mrs. Temple the whole team will then decide we've both gone mad."

He chuckled. "Very true."

* * *

She sat in the common area, trying her best not to look at the lockers. They still served as a painful reminder of her home and what was missing from this one. Abby shut her eyes, one sure way of not seeing the lockers, and simply let her mind wander. She finally found a chance for some peace and quiet and decided to take advantage of it. After ten minutes, she lost track of where her mind had been, but it felt amazing to be able to just sit and think. It had been one thing after another lately, and she never seemed to get time to herself…

"Abby?"

And when she did, someone wanted to talk.

"Might I join you?" Emily inquired politely, good intentions at heart.

"'Course," she faked a smile and scooted over to give Emily room to sit on the small couch.

"I came to ask how you are," she stated compassionately.

"I thought it might be something like that," Abby smirked. "Seems to be going around."

They chuckled, but when Emily saw the look in Abby's eyes, she realized that she was interrupting. "I should come back later." She shifted to stand.

"No. It's fine, really. I've spent enough of my time singing the blues, haven't I? Stay, please."

"Alright, if you say so." She paused. "Really, how are you?"

Emily wasn't going to let this go, so there was no getting out of it. "To be honest, I'm not sure."

She nodded. "I know it must be difficult... Getting used to a whole new life. So many changes."

"Yeah... It's not quite the differences that get me, though. It's the things that are the same that bother me."

"Like Andrew?" Abby questioned Emily with her eyes. "You called him Connor, Abby. I'm from the 1800's; I was hardly born yesterday."

She smiled but said nothing.

"So what happened with you and him, if you don't mind my asking?" She prodded further, genuinely concerned.

"He... He used to be someone else, someone that I spent a lot of time with."

Emily nodded. "And then you lost him." They both smiled grimly. "I lost someone, too. Hardly on the same scale as your experience, of course, but when I first traveled here with Ethan, I lost a friend. You saw her... Her name was Charlotte. We were just starting to get close when she died."

Abby placed her hand on Emily's. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, it's fine. I just wanted to let you know... To know that you're not alone."

"Thank you."

They smiled as Emily decided it was time for a change of subject. "So Andrew, what do you think of him? Is he anything like your Connor?"

She chuckled through her nose. "A bit. He has the same expressions..." Lowering her voice, she added, "And he fancies me."

She smirked. "And what about you? Do you return his affection?"

Abby sighed and leaned back. "I don't know him. His face is the same, and sometimes he'll say something a certain way... But he's not my Connor, and he never can be. It's not his fault, of course... It's mine."

"Yours?"

"I changed something back there, Emily, in the first anomaly to the Triassic. I don't know what I did, but I changed something. And now he's gone. He completed me, and every second I was around him, I felt that. I can be so stuck in my ways, and Connor can just come around, out of the blue, and change my whole perspective. Between the two of us, he was the one who always made sense. Sure, I have my areas, but he was just so... so intelligent, and he always had a point. Even if he didn't know how to say it, he knew what he believed, and that was one of the things I loved most about him. He knew how to make me believe in something, even if that 'something' was myself. Without him here... I'm on my own. I made him stay behind at the ARC that time, and he would've stopped me from going through the anomaly in the first place. If he had been there, he would've stopped me, and then he'd still be here."

Emily sat in silence, unsure of what to say.

She understood. Here she was, pouring her guts out to her friend about someone this Emily had never even met. She probably sounded insane. "I don't expect you to say anything. Just... thank you for listening."

Emily smiled as Abby stood to leave, happy to finally have gotten that off her chest. "Abby?"

"Yeah?"

"You're not alone," she said reassuringly.

Abby smirked as she walked out of the common room.

* * *

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